US3529636A

US3529636A - Loom dobbies

Info

Publication number: US3529636A
Application number: US759550A
Authority: US
Inventors: Thomas Hindle
Original assignee: Hindle Son and Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hindle Son and Co Ltd
Priority date: 1967-10-03
Filing date: 1968-09-13
Publication date: 1970-09-22
Anticipated expiration: 1987-09-22
Also published as: GB1197586A

Description

T. HINDLE LOOM DOBBIES Sept. 22, 1970 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 13, 1968 v INVENTOR: fiomayliz'zzdle BY 'i? q .31. t

T. HINDLE LQOM DOBBIES Sept. 22, 1970 3 Sheets- Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 13, 1968 T. HlNDLE LOOM DOBBIES Sept. '22, 1970 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 13, 1968 United States Patent 3,529,636 LOOM DOBBIES Thomas Hindle, Blackburn, England, assignor to Hindle, Son & Company Limited, Blackburn, England Filed Sept. 13, 1968, Ser. No. 759,550 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Oct. 3, 1967, 44,855/ 67 Int. Cl. D03d 1/12 US. Cl. 139-77 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The lever of a vibrator lever assembly for a Knowlestype loom head motion or dobby is provided with a disclike part upon which the vibrator wheel is rotatably mounted. A cover plate secures the wheel in position upon an axle pin extending from the said part, the cover plate being offset relative to the axle pin and being of generally L-shape to permit of the free movement of a crank pin extending outwardly from the surface of the vibrator wheel through the plane of the cover plate during repeated oscillating movement of the vibrator wheel between predetermined limits and a connector mounted on the crank pin for oscillation therewith.

This invention relates to positive open-shed gear-dobbies, also known as loom head-motions, of the Knowlesyp In the conventional Knowles head-motion, the jacklevers are of the two-arm or bell-crank form, and as all the crankpins are fixed in the vibrator-wheels at a common radius, or throw, a graded shed is obtainable only by attaching the streamers at progressively greater radius along the two arms of the jack-levers, as viewed from front to back. The connectors, which link the said crankpins to the upstanding arms of the jack-levers, are necessarily curved and also attenuated at their crankpin ends in order to provide physical clearance, firstly, above the axle pin lug on the vibrator lever, and, secondly, below the teeth of the top driving cylinder, and consequently the dimensions and strength of the connectors themselves, also the bearing area of the axle pins and crankpins, are restricted in practice.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved construction for the unit assembly comprising the vibrator lever, the vibrator gear-wheel and the connector, whereby the axle pins and crankpins may be made relatively large in diameter and bearing area or, alternatively and preferably, fitted with ball or roller bearings, while the connectors are straight instead of curved, and may be made of ample strength, the said construction permitting, when so required, the crankpin in each vibrator-wheel, as viewed from front to back, to be fixed at a progressively greater radius instead of at a common radius.

According to the present invention a vibrator lever assembly for a Knowles type loom head motion or dobby comprises a vibrator lever, embodying a plate-like part, an axle pin carried by such part, a vibrator wheel rotatably mounted on the axle pin, the said vibrator wheel having a crank-pin extending therefrom at that side thereof remote from the plate-like part, a cover plate secured to the said plate-like part and extending across the face of the vibrator wheel over a part of the periphery thereof and in closely adjacent relation thereto thus to maintain the vibrator wheel in position upon the axle pin, the said cover plate being adapted and arranged to permit free to and fro movement of the crank pin and a connector supported thereon Within a limited range of movement during repeated oscillating motion of the vibrator wheel.

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Preferably the cover plate is generally L-shaped and is mounted upon the lever in off-set relationship to the axle pin.

By the adoption of the electrically-controlled fluidpressure relay mechanism described in co-pending US. Pat. No. 3,460,582, for the purpose of setting and retaining the vibrator levers and their gear-wheels in their operative positions, these components are rendered independent of gravity for their operation, thereby enabling the entire layout of the conventional Knowles head motion to be rearranged to better advantage from the particular viewpoint of heavy duty.

The invention will now be described further, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation, omitting the frame, of the improved head-motion, or dobby, as adapted to actuate horizontal jack-levers;

FIG. 2 is an edge-view of two adjacent improved unit assemblies;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation, drawn to larger scale, of the improved unit assembly;

FIG. 3A shows the general banjo form of the vibratorlever;

FIG. 3B shows the vibrator-wheel;

FIG. 3C shows the cover plate; and

FIG. 3D shows a modification of the connector.

Referring to FIG. 1, the horizontal jack-levers 1 swing on their common fulcrum bar 2, and operate the head shafts (not shown) through vertical tension members T and B, end pulleys P, horizontal streamers S, and other pulleys and tie-ups (not shown). The said tension members T and B are attached to the jack-levers 1 at a common radius from their fulcrum 2 by the swivels 3a. Each jack-lever, by hinge-pin 3 located about midway in its length, is linked by straight connector 4 to the overhung crankpin 4a, fixed at a suitable radius in each vibrator- Wheel 5, which wheel rotates on the overhung axle-pin 5a fixed in the disc 6d (FIG. 3A) at the top of the vertical vibrator lever 6, which lever swings on the common fulcrum bar 7. These fulcrum bars 2 and 7, as also the through bars 12 and 32, are supported by the frames (not shown).

The vibrator-wheels S are adapted in the usual manner to be rotated a half-turn at a time, first in one direction and subsequently in the other, by their meshing alternately with the partly-toothed driving cylinders 8 and 9, such cylinders rotating continuously in opposite directions, as indicated by the arrows. Each vibrator lever 6 swings over sufiiciently to set its vibrator-wheel 5 in meshing distance with either the lift cylinder 8 or the lowering cylinder 9. These setting operations are preferably performed by the electrically-controlled fluid-pressure means described in our aforesaid co-pending US. Pat. No. 3,460,582, one form of such means comprising a double-acting slave cylinder 11 which is flexibly anchored to the through-bar 12, while its piston-rod 11a is hinged at 6a to the upper end of the vibrator lever 6. The action of each slave cylinder is governed by an electromagnetically actuated valve 13 under the control of a pattern switch 16 in accordance with the indications of a pattern chain 18 or the like.

According to the first part of the invention, as shown by the accompanying drawings, the upper end of each vibrator lever 6 takes the general form of a circular plate or disc 6d in the centre of which is fixed the overhung axle-pin 5a, on which the vibrator-wheel 5 rotates. An overhung crankpin 4a is similarly fixed at a suitable radius in each vibrator-wheel. The entire rear rim of the wheel 5 is in free contact with the front face of the disc 6d, FIG. 2, and the wheel is retained in that location on its axle-pin a by a cover plate 31, which spans and partly encloses the wheel 5, and is secured by screws 6m to the disc 6d. This cover plate 31 thus occupies the same plane as the connector 4, and while it aflFords lateral location and support for the vibrator-wheel, it is so shaped as to clear the semi-circular path of the crankpin 4a and the straight connector 4, and also to allow the vibrator-wheel to mesh with either cylinder as and when required.

The cover plate 31 is of generally L-shaped and its outline or shape is best shown in FIG. 3C. The lower arcuate profile encloses, over a wide angle, the front rim of the wheel 5, thereby ensuring its lateral stability under the forces sustained by the overhung crankpin 4a. It is preferred that the external circular profile 6s of the cover plate be made to register into a corresponding circular recess machined in the disc at 61, as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 3A.

Each vibrator-wheel 5 may be provided, in the usual manner, with a semi-circular slot or groove 5p (FIG. 3B), the extreme ends of which engage a stop-pin 60 (FIGS. 3, 3A) to limit the rotation. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3D, and with the same effect, the boss at the crankpin end of the straight connector 4 may be provided with a pad 40, adapted to abut against the co-planar cover plate 31.

The extreme top end of each vibrator lever 6 is provided with a machine groove 35, FIG. 3A, adapted to be engaged and guided by one of a series of pegs or rollers such as 33 (FIG. 3), projecting downwards from a through-bar 32, thereby ensuring accurate spacing and alignment of the vibrator levers during their swinging movement, and under the heaviest shedding loads. The upper end of each vibrator lever is also provided with a lug for the hinged attachment by pin 6a of the pistonrod 11a of the slave cylinder 11, or, alternatively, of an intermediate toggle-linkage actuated by that cylinder, in the general manner and for the purpose described in the above-mentioned co-pending U.S. Pat. No. 3,460,582.

Horizontal, single-armed jack-levers are preferred for heavy work as being more compact and inherently stronger than the customary bell-crank levers, and they are also more conveniently and tidily connected to the heald shafts, as will be apparent from FIG. 1. The vertical connections T and B, are linked to the jack-levers 1 at a common radius r, and the graded shed is provided in the preferred manner by fixing the crankpins in the vibrator-wheels, as viewed from front to back, at a progressively greater radius, which graduation is facilitated by the construction herein described.

The crank radius arm of the vibrator-wheel 5 and the connector 4 are arranged in the usual manner to form a toggle-lock at each end of the semi-rotary movement of the wheel, so as to sustain the heald shafts in their openshed positions whenever the gears are not in mesh.

It is preferred to divide the improved head-motion into two parts, one such part being located at each end of the loom, but with both such parts controlled by a singlepattern-barrel located in any convenient position, usually at one end of the loom, in the manner of the above-mentioned co-pending application. The arrangement is such that the odd-numbered heald shafts are actuated by one part, and the even numbered from the other part of the head-motion, or dobby, whereby, in the usual manner the shaft-actuating components, viz: the vibrator lever, its wheel and connector, may have a combined thickness equal to twice the pitch of the heald shafts.

The horizontal jack-lever 1 shown in FIG. 1, may be provided with additional means, as described in our copending U.S. application Ser. No. 759,653, enabling any heald shaft to be slightly raised or lowered by a single adjustment accessible at the end of the loom, thereby obviating the laborious operation of adjusting all the top and bottom tie-ups appertaining to each shaft in a wide loom.

Springs may be fitted to ensure completion of the vibrator-wheels half-turns, for example, a tension spring may be hinged to the connector about midway in its length and the other end anchored either to a stationary through-bar or to the co-acting jack-lever adjacent to the fulcrum. Alternatively, compression springs may be applied with equivalent effect.

The improved head-motion or dobby mechanism may be adapted for actuating drop-boxes and/or for controlling pick-at-will picking motions.

What I claim is:

1. A vibrator lever assembly for a loom head motion comprising a vibrator lever, embodying a plate-like part, an axle pin carried by said plate-like part, said axle pin extending from the plate-like part with its axis substantially perpendicular thereto, a vibrator wheel rotatably mounted on said axle pin close to and substantially parallel to said plate-like part, a crank pin carried by said vibrator wheel, said crank pin extending from the vibrator wheel at the side remote from the plate-like part and substantially perpendicular thereto, a connector rotatably supported by said crank pin close to and substantially parallel to said vibrator wheel at the side remote from the plate-like part and a cover plate secured to said plate-like part close to and parallel to the face of the vibrator wheel, said cover plate covering a part of the periphery of the vibrator Wheel thus to maintain the vibrator wheel in position on said axle pin, said cover plate being adapted and arranged to permit free to-and-fro movement of the crank pin and the connector supported thereon within a limited range of movement during repeated oscillating movement of the vibrator wheel.

2. A vibrator wheel assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cover-plate is generally L-shaped and is mounted upon the plate-like part in off-set relationship to the axle pin.

3. A vibrator lever assembly according to claim 1, wherein said plate-like part has at the side from which the axle pin extends laterally extending portions at each of two spaced locations, and said cover plate extends between and is secured to said portions.

4. A vibrator lever assembly according to claim 3, wherein said portions are each recessed to receive the cover plate into registration therewith.

5. A vibrator lever assembly according to claim 3, wherein said plate-like part has a groove in an edge there of, disposed at right angles to the axis of the vibrator wheel adapted to receive a fixed guide into engagement therewith.

6. A vibrator lever assembly according to claim 1 including stop means adapted to limit the extent of rotation of the vibrator wheel relative to the lever.

7. A vibrator lever assembly according to claim 6 wherein an edge of the cover plate constitutes the said stop means.

8. A vibrator lever assembly according to claim 7, wherein said connector includes a pad operable by contact with said edge of the cover plate to limit the extent of movement of the vibrator wheel relative to the lever.

9. A vibrator lever assembly according to claim 1 wherein the said connector is straight.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 490,106 1/1893 Falvey 139-77 860,715 7/1907 Wattie 13977 1,053,307 2/1913 Livermore 139-77 1,112,874 10/1914 Wattie 13977 1,451,797 4/1923 Wattie 13977 JAMES KEE CHI, Primary Examiner